The invention relates generally to boots, such as cowboy boots and work boots, which employ a comfort system, relying upon vertically aligned foamed plastic pads, at strategic areas, of high impact, such as the ball and heel areas of the boot. The comfort system is compact and fits easily into the interior of the boot. One pair of pads is secured to an insole liner backing board, while another pair of pads is secured to the upper surface of the midsole.
The Goodyear welt system is widely used in the manufacture of boots and shoes. The Goodyear welt stitch is applied to the shoe or boot with a great amount of pressure, and a rigid inner sole board must be strong enough to withstand such pressure. However, the rigid inner sole board presents a source of discomfort to the wearer, and resilient cushioning pads have been employed in some boots, in an effort to minimize such discomfort.
To illustrate, U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,491, granted to Marvin 0 Huff, discloses a comfort system for a shoe or boot, including a rigid inner sole board (10). Full-length cushioning pad (15) is placed on top of the innersole board, and precut detachable pieces (11a, 11b) are defined on the innersole board. Removing the detachable pieces allows rectangular cushioning pads (20a, 20b) to contact the cushioning pad to provide additional cushioning effect. The rectangular pads are located at the heel of the boot, and under the ball of the foot of the wearer, the points of maximum impact for the wearer of the boot.
While the comfort system disclosed in Huff represented a step forward, such comfort system exhibited shortcomings. The amount of cushioning achieved by such system was limited by the compression of pad (15) and cushioning pads (20a, 20b). While the full length pad is of uniform thickness, the polyurethane cushioning pad located at the heel of the boot may be considerably thicker than the polyurethane cushioning pad attached at the forepart of the innersole board, as noted in column 3 lines 25-35 of Huff.